Football means footy, not soccer

09/Jun/2009

Geoff Newby-Butt, Mindarie

Comments: 22 readers have left a comment

I WAS told recently that Jacks Junior Soccer Club has had its name changed to Quinns Football Club.

I guess that makes all the soccer fanatics happy, but for all the Aussies who grew up with football, real Aussie Rules football, what about our rights?

AFL is an Aussie icon. Why do people need to override what we have here?

In this particular case, who asked for the change and more importantly who authorised it?

Certainly none of the people who have spoken to me or any of the children I know through being a parent umpire for Auskick.

Soccer is soccer. Football in this country is Aussie Rules - or is it?

What everyone else is thinking

Shaun

24/10/2011

There is no such thing as SOCCER, there is only football, the world game.

Community Minded

03/07/2010

AFL is footy...soccer is the round ball girls game.

Samantha

12/05/2010

I hate that poms think they can come over here and force their ways on us. As a matter or fact i hate that any other race/religion thinks thats because we have a laid back attitude they can try and force their ways on us. Get over it people. In australia AFL is football, Hence the Australian Football League. Aussies didn't invent the word soccer so stop ripping on us for using it. Just be glad that all we ask is you call soccer soccer and football football while your over here. Its a lot better than having your rights taken away like in other countries. Also to the Poms reading this, perhaps you should cool it a bit with your soccer clubs. While in Kent recently (Visiting my family, Im the only Aussie born here) my aunties neighbour came home after a soccer match with a slashed jersey. Someone had run up behind him and slashed through his jersey with a stanley knife. Insane. Crazy "football" hooligans, you need to get over yourself. Wanna call soccer footy? Do it in your own

Paul

16/02/2010

So many comments and so little knowledge.

First some historical and undisputed facts:
There are several vairants of football that derived from English Public School games of the early 19th century. Australian football was one of the first to get written rules (in 1859 and it's isn't a derivation of anything as one reader commented). Association Football (the game controlled by FIFA) was codified in 1863. And although it had been palyed for many years, Rugby wasn't codified until the 1870's. American football is derived from rugby.

In the 1860's any of the games would fairly similar (the original rules for soccer allowed "marks" a-la-Australian football). It has only been via gradual evolution that they now look different.

Hence the can all called themselves football.

The problem in Australia now is if some refers to Australian Football - what exactly do they refer to? If the round ball adherents were respectful they would refer to their game by it's correct name

Katy

26/11/2009

I think this is getting rather nasty! It shouldn't be a personal attack on the poms who have moved here, maybe it was an australian who changed the name? Nobody actually knows!

Just because you call soccer football doesn't mean that you are completely disrepecting australia! It's only a name people and one that is used by many countries worldwide.

If you are going to be so petty then maybe you should blame the poms too for disrespecting australia by calling thongs "flip flops" or chips "crisps"! I mean where does it end!

I am a pom and I do respect the australian culture very much so. We love living here and we think it's a great country. Let's all try and live together nicely rather than fighting with each other.

Perhaps rather than having nasty digs at each other on here someone should actually ask the manager of Quinns Football club why the name was changed and who changed it and point their grievances towards them instead at each other!

Elisha Kantar

10/11/2009

i think you are right and that football is footyand soccer is soccer

tony

13/09/2009

If Aussie rules is so great why do they change the rules every year? If you are so proud of the history and culture of the game why keep changing it? The word football refers to a game played with the feet and a ball (a ball is round, don't you get it?).

leonard jones

07/08/2009

let's face it !! it's a breakaway of gealic football !! agame of two set's of football goal keepers . catch the ball , then the big kick ??? pity!! not a money spinner likr world football !! [world football excellent for tourism ???

Norhterner

29/06/2009

uuuhh...This REALLY is a grave matter - is it soccer or is it football?
And - we found yet another reason to call people names and require their deprtation to wherever they came from. We don't want no Pommy Land people or any other non-Aussies to disagree with us. It might rob us of our Aussie culture. Yep, calling soccer football might spell out the end of Australia.... You really don't have much confidence in Aussie Land, do you? Would explain those calls to assimilate or leave everytime somebody dares not to toe the 'party line'. Some inferiority complex, ain't it....?

Bartosz

24/06/2009

It's me again.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF WRITTING HERE IF THE CLUBS NAME WILL BE FOOTBALL CLUB ANYWAY!!!!
jezzz use your brain sometimes

Bartosz

24/06/2009

**** , football is soccer and that's it
get a life

It is only you Australians and Americans that call it SOCCER

to point something, a guy gets angry cuz some soccer club changed their name to football club and it's HIS PROBLEM

To every singe person living in this country
Football one day will be No.1 sport in this country , it's just about time
football unites people , you don't have to speak english to play football
that's why it's the No.1 WORLD GAME , FACE IT

Wish I was born in AUS

17/06/2009

G'Day POM (Alison, Whinger or whatever),
I too was born & bred in a strong Soccer town, Liverpool you know, Liverpool & Everton. I am fortunate enough to be in a better place too !
It is fair to assume you came to AUS seeking change, why not try and accept it!! Football is Aussie Rules in this land, and AUSSIE does RULE, respect the land & culture or do us all a favour and leave these great lands to people whom respect them and it's culture.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI !!!!

Greg

10/06/2009

Alison. Seeing as you raised the subject - Yes I have been to England and while I was there I was quite happy to adopt the local vernacular and refer to the round ball game as "football". When i go to to NSW and Qld, I respect the history of their heritage and I refer to their game as "football". Likewise, when others come to WA (or Vic, Tas, SA or NT) we expect them to respect or heritage and culture and adopt the local language. Those that do otherwise are simply rude and obnoxious.

I do not expect every resident of Australia to like or play Football (the Aussie game). But I do expect everyone to respect our history and culture. If you are not willing to do so, then it's worth questioning why you came here to begin with.

Alison

10/06/2009

Tazinoz, someone who is talking some sense ! Well done

tazinoz

10/06/2009

It's about time 'footy' fans (sorry AFL fans) caught up with the times. Even the governing body in Australia has changed it name to Football Federation of Australia. There is no single code that has a stranglehold on the word football so live with it. Football (round ball type) is the world game so if any code has the right, surely it's this.
The fact is, every state has their interpretation of what's 'football'. For WA, SA and Vic it's AFL, and for Qld and NSW it's Rugby League.
Growing up in Queesland, it was always Aussie Rules, League or football.......and my old man was from Adelaide

Not that hard

Alison

09/06/2009

BTW to be Australian you do not have to play or like Aussie Rules !!!!!

Alison

09/06/2009

OHHHHHH
Well that got them going
Think you are missing the point
YOU CALL IT FOOTBALL AND SOCCER, doesn't mean others do, doesn't mean that we aren't getting into this country just means that you have to understand that by people calling an Aussie Rules football club a football club is an insult !!!!!
And BTW wish it was only 15 hours flight back to England !!!! You obviously haven't been there

Evilbunny

09/06/2009

This is Australia , become Australian , play the national game . Australian Rules FOOTBALL.......if you dont like it ..go back to POMMY LAND...were they dont play Australian Rules.!!!!!!

Greg

09/06/2009

I wholeheartedly agree. For over 150 years, Australians have associated "football" with the great game played with an oval ball - not one of those weird round ones! As we get more and more blowin's from Europe hitting our shores they seem to want to rename soccer to as football. Soccer people run feeble arguments such as
"The aussie game should be called handball because they use their hands"... well if the game's name is supposed to be a reflection of what takes place on the field then soccer should be called "Roll around on the ground anytime anyone touches you ball".
When you come to australia, you adopt our language. The round ball game is called "SOCCER" and the game men play is called "FOOTY". If you don't like it - go home.

natalie

09/06/2009

Hi Alison. I think you've missed the point. We are in Australia. You know, that little land surround by sea, about 15 hours flight from where they call soccer football? The author of the letter is saying that when in Rome you should do as the Romans do. Football in Australia refers to Aussie Rules and since here we call Soccer Soccer (no matter what anyone else anywhere else calls it) then the club name should be Soccer, not Football.

voyagersaus

09/06/2009

There's a high concentration of Brits in the coastal suburbs - they can't get enough of our lovely beaches. :)

But agree - footy is Aussie Rules Football and Soccer is soccer.

And for the record, have an ex footballer, an Auskicker, and a current soccer champ in the family so I feel somewhat entitled to have an opinion on that one.

Alison

09/06/2009

Hate to disappoint you but soccer in England is called Football, Hello Arsenal FOOTBALL CLUB, Chelsea FOOTBALL Club etc etc
It is only you Australians and Americans that call it SOCCER, no one refers to it as soccer in England, it is football !!!!!!!!!